Supernatural Review – “The Devil in the Detail” S11E10

It’s been a little over a month since Supernatural went on their mid-season break with the slightly underwhelming “O Brother Where Art Thou?” The episode didn’t leave much in the way of cliffhangers or build-up leading to the second half of the season. Whatever high expectations fans may have had for last night’s mid season premiere were likely not lived up to by what “The Devil in the Details”was in actuality. It wasn’t a bad return for new episodes, but it certainly took a long time to move the story forward. And once shit actually started to get real, the episode ended as that all occurred in the last two minutes.

Pros:

At least SOMETHING happened: It took a long time, but at least a game-changer was finally thrown into the mix. Lucifer is free from the cage, and free to wander the plains of the earth and heaven. I’m not sure how I feel about this ordeal as a whole at this point, and Castiel’s refusal to learn from his mistakes is infuriating, but I salute the writers because I didn’t see this coming and it didn’t feel predictable at all. I know I’m pretty excited to see Misha Collins pretend to be Mark Pellegrino for however long this things lasts, goofy though it may be, but as far as where this will take the story I just don’t know. It was a twist, and I stand by it. For now.

RIP Rowena: She was great last season, I enjoyed the hell out of the character and Ruthie Connell’s portrayal of her, but sadly this year she wore out her welcome. The Mega Coven was funny, but overall, there just wasn’t a place for her in this season’s storyline. It had far more impact on the story to kill her as opposed to keep her in the distance wait for a time when she can be fearsome again. Her death was a bit anticlimactic, and they’ll obviously need to find someone else who can operate The Book of The Damned with all this Darkness floating around, but I’m glad the writers pulled the trigger (for lack of a better term) and actually freaking killed someone who by all standards of the actual story deserved/needed to die.

Cons:

Weak answers to weak questions: What little we were left wondering about from the finale was so quickly and easily wrapped up that I almost wonder why those questions were written in the first place? Did the angel smiting actually kill Amara? Of course not. And not only that, but she’s fine and the exact same as she was beforehand. She’s not more or less powerful, or even more angry. Stubbing her toe would have had a greater impact on her because at least she would have been pissed and in pain for 2-5 minutes. But what about Sam? He’s in the cage again! How long will he suffer? Not long actually. And he’s fine. Other than having to live through some flashbacks to his past that left him wholly unaffected nothing really happened to him. Well, Lucifer did punch him a few times but he seems fine.

And that’s about it: Possibly my least favorite thing about last night’s episode is that very statement: Amara is alive and well, Sam is out of the cage after maybe a few hours, Lucifer has taken Castiel as a vessel and is free from the cage, and Rowena died. I know, when I list it all out it sounds like a lot but it really didn’t feel like it.

Predictions:

Castiel/Lucifer (Cascifer) madness: I don’t know how long it will take Sam and Dean to figure out that Cas isn’t Cas anymore, but I have a feeling it’ll happen pretty quickly. Lucifer doesn’t seem the type to not want to brag about getting the best of the Winchesters. Chances are, however, that he will shift a lot of the focus from defeating Amara as, let’s face it, there is no way defeating the darkness is actually that high on Lucifer’s topside to do list. I refuse to believe that Winchester/Crowley team ups are over, as the King himself suggested, and it is likely they will need to join forces against Lucifer. I cannot imagine that Crowley will be able to keep his crown for very long now, and frankly it’s just good business for the Winchester’s to help him stay in charge as opposed to Lucifer actually taking up the reins again. Other than that, I have no idea where this season is headed from here. The Darkness still seems like a tough adversary, and there is no way Lucifer alone can defeat her, despite what he said to Castiel. At this point it’s either bring in God, which is a SUPER risky move, or bring all the Archangels back together to defeat her, which means bringing Gabriel back from the dead (please!) and letting Michael out of the cage, even though no one knows how to open it now. Or who knows, maybe they’ll just find another spell in the book of the damned.

Hush gives “The Devil in the Detail” a B-because I love Supernatural and will always be happy to see new episodes, even though this one didn’t quite hit the spot. Maybe next week, right guys?